In the United States, credit counseling agencies are loosely regulated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, which can sue companies that have deceived consumers about the cost, nature, or benefits of their services.[1] Different states may regulate DMPs individually and attorneys general are empowered to protect state citizens from fraud.[5]

Afterward, a National Debt Relief specialist will contact you to discuss options and require that you provide proof of your debt balance, income, assets and basic necessity expenses. Any proof that you are struggling with financial hardship needs to be provided during the initial financial review to assess whether a debt settlement program is right for you.

This should really only be explored a last resort for debt relief before you file for bankruptcy. If you’ve tried everything else and haven’t had any success, then you can consider a debt settlement plan where you settle your debts for less than the full amount owed. This can cause significant damage to your credit score and results may vary, but it may be your best option if your situation is truly critical.

Yes, but this is a real commitment of time and resources. Here is how it works. List all your debts (except your mortgage) from smallest to largest. Pay the minimum due on all debts, but the smallest. Attack the smallest debt with as much money as you have available — $100 a month, for example – until it is paid off. When that is paid off, take the $100 a month, plus whatever the minimum you were paying on the second smallest debt, combine them and go after the second debt. Keep repeating until you have gone through each debt. The idea is to gain momentum in your bill paying by having success.

People are creatures of habits and spending money is no exception. We shop at the same stores, eat in the same restaurants and drive the same car, because it’s comfortable. It’s also costing you more than you can handle financially. Remedy: If you won’t change your spending habits, you won’t ever get out of debt. Start with your morning habits (have your coffee and breakfast at home). Go to lunch with a brown bag, not a wallet. In the evening, watch games or movies on TV, while eating a home cooked meal. You will see an immediate impact on your daily spending habits. You don’t have to do without. You just have to make better choices with what you do.

Each week when you make a payment, subtract the amount, so you have a new balance. The point of this is to see those numbers getting smaller each week. It’s motivating. We also didn’t list dates for the second debt on the list because as we get to the end of each debt, we might reach just a little further so we can pay it off a week or two earlier.

Walking or biking to work have benefits beyond just saving money too. More exercise, less pollution, less aggravation. When I worked in an office, I always walked to and from work. Sometimes as much as 45 minutes each way and in all kinds of weather. Such was my mania to avoid giving the MTA one cent I didn’t have to give their crummy service. And to save money of course.

It depends — is your credit in enough shape to qualify for a lower interest rate on a consolidation loan? Will you be able to make the monthly payment associated with the loan? Unlike a credit card, where you can pay the minimum, an installment loan locks you into a payment each month for a set period of time. You can also consider a balance-transfer credit card, which could help you save on interest. More info on the pros and cons of all those options here:

If you decide to start a debt management plan, there will likely be a one time set-up charge and a monthly fee for the cost of administering the plan. These fees are determined in part by your state of residence and will be calculated by your counselor during your credit counseling session. If you feel that a fee will be too much of a burden for you to pay, talk to your counselor. If you qualify under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services poverty guidelines, you may be eligible to a fee waiver.
Please note that all calls with the company may be recorded or monitored for quality assurance and training purposes. *Clients who are able to stay with the program and get all their debt settled realize approximate savings of 50% before fees, or 30% including our fees, over 24 to 48 months. All claims are based on enrolled debts. Not all debts are eligible for enrollment. Not all clients complete our program for various reasons, including their ability to save sufficient funds. Estimates based on prior results, which will vary based on specific circumstances. We do not guarantee that your debts will be lowered by a specific amount or percentage or that you will be debt-free within a specific period of time. We do not assume consumer debt, make monthly payments to creditors or provide tax, bankruptcy, accounting or legal advice or credit repair services. Not available in all states. Please contact a tax professional to discuss tax consequences of settlement. Please consult with a bankruptcy attorney for more information on bankruptcy. Depending on your state, we may be available to recommend a local tax professional and/or bankruptcy attorney. Read and understand all program materials prior to enrollment, including potential adverse impact on credit rating.
The Telemarketing Sales Rule, enforced by the Federal Trade Commission, requires companies that sell debt relief services to explain their fees and tell you about any conditions on their services before you sign up; it also prohibits companies that sell debt relief services by phone from charging a fee before they settle or reduce your debt. For credit counseling that promises to get you into a DMP, that means the company cannot collect a fee until you have entered the DMP and made at least one payment to your creditors using the DMP.
Debt management fees vary based on your state of residence and debt amount. GreenPath charges a one-time set up fee that ranges from $0 to $50. We also charge a monthly fee that ranges from $0 to $75. This is minimal considering the amount of money our clients typically save in waived late fees, waived over limit fees, and reduce credit card interest charges.
If you’re interested in a debt management program, you’ll first consult a Clearpoint certified credit counselor in a free, basic credit counseling session, which is offered online, via phone, or in person. Your counselor will review your total financial situation and discuss your credit report, income, and expenses. You and your counselor will take inventory of your outstanding debts and creditors, and your counselor will explain how a DMP may work for your specific situation, including how your interest rates and monthly payments may change on the program.
We write about a range of topics like reducing debt, finding student loans, getting the best strategy to pay off student loans, understanding credit cards and planning for retirement. In addition to our comprehensive site, we have relationships with a variety of trustworthy debt service providers who can ensure that readers’ financial needs are met.

Find free, simple steps to take in order eliminate credit card debt and to save money on all of your monthly bills. Experts offer free, do it yourself advice and simple steps that you can take yourself to eliminate credit card debt. The goal of these methods is to help you become debt free in a fairly short time frame. While there is no easy button to press, taking some small steps now can put you on the right path. Many are tried and true. There are steps to follow to eliminate credit card debt, as it does take time.

Who’s it best for? Anyone who doesn’t like surprises will appreciate Cambridge. The clear FAQs include questions any prospective client would want answered (for example: “How will the program affect my credit rating?”) and there are a lot of financial basics, including budget worksheets and a debt payoff calculator. Cambridge is also willing to work with limited kinds of secured debt.
Under no circumstances should any information from this blog be used as replacement for professional financial advice. DollarSprout.com is owned by VTX Capital, LLC and neither are licensed by or affiliated with any third-party marks on this website and third parties do not endorse, authorize, or sponsor our content except where clearly disclosed. DollarSprout.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
If you enroll with National Debt Relief they state that you can expect to save potentially 30% on average and that does not include paying taxes on debt forgiven over $600. Additionally what they don’t mention is that to obtain a favorable settlement you will need to stop making payments on your debts which will increase you total debt in the short term, hurt your credit, and open you up to potential lawsuits and debt collection phone calls due to non payment.
Get everything in writing. Before enrolling in a plan, make sure you get a contract. Get all verbal promises in writing, and read the contract very carefully to make sure the terms are the same as those you discussed. Watch very carefully for hidden fees. If a company won't send you a contract before you make your first monthly payment, don't pay them and go elsewhere for help.

A credit counselor is a professional who can advise you on how to handle and successfully pay off your debt. A simple call to a credit counseling agency for a consultation won’t impact your credit in the slightest. But if the credit counselor or agency enrolls you in any kind of consolidation, repayment, or management plan, that could affect your credit.

Free advice from credit counseling agencies is available. Several different organizations, all of which are non-profits, operate across the country. A number of agencies operate regionally as well. They provide a number of low cost or free debt reduction programs, offer ways to improve credit scores, can advise on filing for bankruptcy, offer budgeting services, and in general provide information on ways to gain control of your bills. Find a listing of non-profit credit counseling agencies.
Instead of diving into debt settlement, a better option might be to talk to a nonprofit credit counselor. Credit counseling organizations can help you better understand tactics for managing and reducing your debt, including creating and following a budget. Credit counseling may not have the negative impact of debt settlement (though if you choose a Debt Management Plan, it could appear on your credit report).
The other approach is more efficient, though: Paying off your highest-interest-rate debts first. Remember that you compiled a list of your debts and their interest rates. Well, the ones with the highest rates are costing you the most, over time. So to minimize your interest expense, you should pay off a debt carrying a 21% interest rate before you tackle a debt with a 12% interest rate.
Credit card forbearance programs are offered by companies. Once again, the major lenders including Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, Discover Card, and others offer credit card forbearance programs that may allow consumers to delay monthly payments from six months to over a year. These programs may also lower interest rates, reduce a customer’s minimum monthly payment, or waive all fees.
I’m about 70k in debt (which includes a car loan and student loans). I was very naive in thinking that earning a Bachelor’s degree would award me with a high paying job and I would be able to take care of this mountain of debt no problem. Of course, that’s not reality, and I make 25k a year. I’ve been working at this job for about a year and a half now, and I have FINALLY found a better paying job after a year of active searching. Although it’s not much, I’ll be moving up to 29k a year. While I pay off my 10k car loan at 250 a month, I’ve been completely avoiding my student loan debt, I don’t even look at it. Right now my loans are in deferment but I owe my first payment in August. I’m really starting to panick. I appreciated your article and found a lot of useful advice in it. I think my first step to paying off my loans will be to work as hard as possible at my new job so maybe after another year or so I can increase my salary more substantially…. Other than that I’m really at a loss for what to do. Any specific advice regarding such a high amount of student loans? (That honestly, I’m almost too embarassed to admit to in this post)
A debt settlement plan in which you repay less than you owe hurts your credit. If your score is around 680 at the time you settle your debt, you could lose between 45 and 65 points. If your score was around 780, you'd lose between 140 and 160 points. However, it won't hurt your score as much as bankruptcy. For a 680 score, bankruptcy could take off 130 to 150 points, and for a 780 score, bankruptcy would cause a drop between 220 and 240 points. While the drop to your score is dramatic and it could take several years to recover, debt settlement could provide much-needed relief if you're struggling to pay bills.
Chapter 7: Bankruptcy has a dramatic affect on your score, and depending on where you started from, you’ll probably end up somewhere between 520 and 550. But, if you’re careful you can raise that score dramatically so that in about two to three years, you’re in the very good to excellent range. Chapter 7 will stay on your credit record for ten years. Check out How to Get New Credit to Survive and Thrive After Bankruptcy.
Personal loans:Personal loans are for a fixed amount of money from banks, credit unions, and online sources. Average personal loan rates range from 10% to 28%, depending on credit. When rates are very high, early and aggressive debt payoff is important. If rates are reasonable, you may wish to prioritize other money goals before putting extra money toward repaying early.
I am 27 and looking to buy a house but I am 50 points shy of getting a good loan and my debt to income ratio is over 50%. I’ve been googling a bunch of information but can’t tell who is reliable how being with a credit counseling would help or even a legal services that are being advertise to pay off short term debts. I just want to know my best opitions to help repair my credit score (as quickly as I can) in addition to it not affecting my taxes.
This year, my husband and I made a few changes… we put ourselves on a strict budget and gave ourselves a cash allowance so we wouldn’t even be tempted to use the debit cards “just to grab lunch,” squirreled our credit cards away so we wouldn’t use them, and went through TONS of stuff that we weren’t using anymore and are planning a neighborhood yard sale for the spring.
Checking your credit report for inaccuracies is an important step in your journey to reduce your debt. Remedy: You are allowed a free credit report from each of the major credit reporting bureaus, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Split them up, one every four months. Check them closely for incorrect delinquencies and/or balances that hurt your credit score and could make a difference in your ability to buy a house or car, or obtain more credit.

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The debt consolidation loan interest rate is usually set at the discretion of the lender or creditor and depends on your past payment behavior and credit score. Even if you qualify for a loan with low interest, there’s no guarantee the rate will stay low. But let’s be honest: Your interest rate isn’t the main problem. Your spending habits are the problem.
They start by reviewing your income, expenses and credit score to determine whether how creditworthy you are. Your credit score is the key number in that equation. The higher, the better. Anything above 700 and you should get an affordable interest rate on your loan. Anything below that and you will pay a much higher interest rate or possibly not qualify for a loan at all if your score has dipped below 620.
People who eliminate debt often fall back into debt because they don’t change their spending habits. If you don’t change the underlying reason that you accumulated significant debt, then you will probably become indebted and need debt relief help again in the future. National Debt Relief provides educational services to help you avoid this situation. If you want to remain debt-free, you need to take seriously the debt education services National Debt Relief offers.
Who’s it best for? Anyone who doesn’t like surprises will appreciate Cambridge. The clear FAQs include questions any prospective client would want answered (for example: “How will the program affect my credit rating?”) and there are a lot of financial basics, including budget worksheets and a debt payoff calculator. Cambridge is also willing to work with limited kinds of secured debt.
DISCLAIMER - Debt.com does not provide direct debt adjustment services, but, upon request, acts as a locator service for BBB registered companies. It is ultimately up to you to determine whether the companies that we may introduce you to are appropriate for your situation. For debt consolidation programs, where permissible by law, companies may charge a one-time enrollment fee typically from $25 up to $75 for account establishment and for debt relief proposals submitted on your behalf to each of your creditors. Monthly program administration fees will vary from $5 but no greater than $75 depending on your state of residence and/or the number of creditors who agree to accept proposals and become enrolled in the program. Fees subject to change if permissible by law. For debt settlement programs, by law, you may not be charged any fee until a debt settlement is arranged on your behalf, you approve the settlement, and at least one payment is made towards the settlement. Each program offered by independent financial service providers is unique so ask them for their complete details of the program and fees.

Credit score is not a factor with credit counseling. The initial consultation, even with a credit check, won’t affect your score. There is no minimum score requirement to enroll in a debt management program. In addition, when done correctly the program has either a neutral or positive effect on your credit. In other words, if you still have good or excellent credit, this program won’t set you back.

There are big benefits to this approach. You don't have to go through an approval process -- the amount you can borrow is determined by your policy's value. You can use the money to repay any debt you want, because there's no explanation required for what you plan to do with it. And while you need to pay back the policy with interest, you're borrowing from yourself so you aren't fattening the pockets of a creditor. Furthermore, there's typically no mandatory minimum monthly payment, and interest rates are low.
Shady. I have to work with these ” yahoos” daily as I am a debt collector. They will not accept the guidelines set by the creditors to provide settlement options to their clients. They INSIST that I take very low and unreasonable offers to creditors and even if I manage to get them approved then say THEY have to get them approved before paying out. I feel if you are making an offer to settle, it is only fair that you can fund the settlement instead of jerking around. It’s a waste of everyone’s time and is unethical. You can’t make offers to creditors that you can’t fund!
Are you tired of paying a high interest rate on your student loan debt? You may be looking for ways to refinance your student loans at a lower interest rate, but don’t know where to turn. We have created the most complete list of lenders currently willing to refinance student loan debt. We recommend you start here and check rates from the top 7 national lenders offering the best student loan refinance products. All of these lenders (except Discover) also allow you to check your rate without impacting your score (using a soft credit pull), and offer the best rates of 2018:
Visitors to Credit.com are also able to register for a free Credit.com account, which gives them access to a tool called The Credit Report Card. This tool provides users with two free credit scores and a breakdown of the information in their Experian credit report, updated twice monthly. Again, this tool is entirely free, and we mention that frequently in our articles, because we think that it’s a good thing for users to have access to data like this. Separate from its educational value, there is also a business angle to the Credit Report Card. Registered users can be matched with products and services for which they are most likely to qualify. In other words, if you register and you find that your credit is less than stellar, Credit.com won’t recommend a high-end platinum credit card that requires an excellent credit score You’d likely get rejected, and that’s no good for you or Credit.com. You’d be no closer to getting a product you need, there’d be a wasted inquiry on your credit report, and Credit.com wouldn’t get paid. These are essentially what are commonly referred to as "targeted ads" in the world of the Internet. Despite all of this, however, even if you never apply for any product, the Credit Report Card will remain free, and none of this will impact how the editorial team reports on credit and credit scores.

Things to mention to get them on your side? Let them know how long you’ve been a loyal customer and that you would love to stick around. But, also share that other credit card companies are offering you lower rates, even 0% introductory rates for balance transfers, and that you can’t ignore the interest savings. Usually, they swing into customer retention mode, and they may be able to pull some strings.

You need to start off with a plan so you know just how much debt you have and your ability to pay them off. Also, it will provide you with a black and white scenario of your financial standing. The easiest way to do this is by creating a spreadsheet. If you don’t already have a spreadsheet on your computer you could use the free one that comes with Google Docs. You will want to create four columns – one for the name of your creditor, one for the amount owed, a third for your minimum payment (if applicable) and a fourth for the payment due date. Fill out these columns and you will have a good picture of your debt, which is the first important step in getting it under control.

You’re ready to begin your debt snowball once you’ve saved your $1,000 starter emergency fund. That’s what we call Baby Step 1. An emergency fund covers those life events you can't plan for. Think busted hot water heater, dental emergency or flat tire. You get the drift. An emergency fund protects you from having to go further into debt to pay for an unexpected expense.
Fortunately, there are several methods to reduce debt – and maybe even eliminate it – in a consistent and logical manner. This can be done on your own, if you have discipline, but it’s often beneficial to partner with financial professionals, who can negotiate lower rates with lenders, refinance homes or create budgets that keep you on the right course.
Try to put some money down on your higher interest student loans. The way I paid off my bachelor loans was whenever i got a refund back from the college or from taxes a portion of that went to the student loans. The more you tackle your higher interest loans the better your credit. Now if you have like tiny ones like 1,000 try paying those off if your not financially ready to tackle the bigger interest rates ones.
About a week later I checked my accounts to see if there was anything else settled and I noticed what’s the balance of my account had drop tremendously. So I I clicked on the transactions and see they’ve made a small payment to my creditor plus $10 for 2 day air which it actually cost $6.70 and then I see a deduction for their fee which was more than 6 times the payment they had just made to my creditor leaving my account at less than $10 balance. I contacted clear one expressing the fact I settled the account not them and why was I being charged such a fee and why would they drain the account leaving no money to make the next payment to my creditor or to settle any of the other accounts what I was told was they had a right to pay themselves. After I did explain to them that I settled the account not them they dropped it to half of the fee for the account that I had settled but mind you this is the only 1 account after four months that have been settled. At this point all of my accounts are now going into collection,the amounts owed to my creditors have gone up considerably my credit has dropped tremendously so I start sending them the collection agencies information. In the six months they finally settled the second account. Lo and behold their fee amount because the amount due has gone up there fee has gone up the amount due is gone up because he never made contact what’s the Creditor to make a settlement. They make one $25 payment to that creditor and then pay themselves thier fee draining all the money out of my account again leaving me nothing in the account to make the next payments to both those creditors intern lost both of the settlements.
Certain credit cards and other financial products mentioned in this and other articles on Credit.com News & Advice may also be offered through Credit.com product pages, and Credit.com will be compensated if our users apply for and ultimately sign up for any of these cards or products. However, this relationship does not result in any preferential editorial treatment.

Even better, when you refinance to a lower-rate loan, it lowers your monthly payment. You could continue to pay the higher payments you were making before the refinance to get debt paid off on an accelerated timeline. That $10,000 at 18% over seven years would have monthly payments of around $210 monthly. If you refinanced to a 9% loan with a seven-year repayment period, the required payment would drop to $161. But if you kept paying the $210 you were paying before, you could repay the loan in just five years and pay only $2,418 in interest. You'd make payments for two years less and save yourself $5,252 in interest.

A DMP is a payment plan that helps you repay your debts. Under the plan, you deposit funds with us each month, which we disburse to your creditors. We also handle calls from your creditors to ensure everything is going smoothly. The vast majority of our payment processing is electronic, so funds are transferred directly to the creditors without delay. Creditors may also offer to reduce or waive fees, finances charges, or interest rates to help lower your DMP payments and ensure your success on the plan. Learn More
My first week of training was taught by the Chief Sales Officer. That set the tone for how leadership operates. They care and are involved. All my coworkers and leadership are willing to help regardless of what team you are on and who you report to. There is A LOT of recognition for all kinds of successes. There are plenty of spiffs throughout the week/month. The money potential is real. If you are a worker, willing...
Should I Keep Paying My Credit Card Bills? Due to your legitimate financial hardship, you are able to participate in this savings program in order to help pay your debts in the future. We are not here to advise you not to pay your debts now, however if you continue to make payments to your creditors, there may be less debt or possibly none left at all for us to settle. If you are able to save money in this program & make payments to your creditors at the same time, then you probably don’t actually have a legitimate financial hardship.
There are other aspects of a Debt Management Plan that may impact one’s score, though. When a debtor enrolls in a debt management plan, all of his/her accounts are closed. This changes the mix of credit available to a consumer, and affects the length of one’s credit history. Those changes to the utilization rate and age of accounts can lower one’s score.
I started today while reading this article by putting 5 dollars into my savings account. I feel like I’m drowning in debt and living from emergency to emergency. I know they key for me to getting out is establishing savings…and I’ve procrastinated. No more! Today I started, next pay check I’ll put in 50, next 100, maybe I’ll get to 200 in a few months. I want to see $2000 in there so I can afford things like car maintenance and medical co-pays!
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McClary advises following the 50-20-30 rule of budgeting: Allocate up to 50 percent of your budget to fixed expenses like mortgage, rent and car payments; 20 percent to savings; and 30 percent to variable expenses, especially discretionary spending for things like hobbies, recreation and dining out. That 30 percent zone is the first area to target for cutting back, McClary says.
I have debt which if I follow my plan should be paid off in two years (except for one huge student loan and my mortgage). I contribute to my work 401k plan. That money would be helpful to put towards my debt however I am also 62 and would like to retire in 2023. Am I doing the right thing in continuing with the 401k, or because I only have 25k in the 401k, should I stop and use the money towards the debt?
Put extra money toward the credit card or debt with the smallest balance. You'll be able to pay it off quickly, reducing the total number of accounts you have to deal with, and giving yourself the mental boost of successfully eliminating part of your debt (though you'll pay more interest in the long run than if you were to pay off debt with the highest interest rate first.)
Take advantage of free credit counseling. The best kept secret in the debt management industry is that you can do most of the things debt management agencies do and avoid paying their fees. Credit counseling is a mandatory prerequisite to enrolling in a DMP. Credit.org offers credit counseling at no charge. Many debtors find that credit counseling alone can help set them on the path to being debt free.[2]
DebtHelp.com is the one site and the one solution for all of your debt consolidation needs. Let our staff of financial experts, innovative technology and collection of helpful articles assist you in finding your debt solutions. By providing simple and secure quotes for nearly a dozen different debt products, we help our customers to rid themselves of debt quickly and easily.
Credit card hardship programs are also more widely available. Citibank, Bank of America, Discover Card, JP Morgan Chase, Capital One, GE Money Bank, and others offer consumers assistance with paying bills and their debts. There are many different versions of these credit card hardship programs, and each bank has their own take on it. They do not advertise these plans to customers, and there are certain steps that individuals need to take in order to apply for help. Find how to get help with paying credit card debt from a hardship program.
“There are hundreds of companies that claim to offer consumers ways to erase bad credit, create a new credit identity, or even remove bankruptcies, judgments or liens from credit files. Many of these services are outright scams and should be avoided,” says Mike Long, executive vice president and chief credit officer at UW Credit Union in Wisconsin.
Consolidate debt using a low interest rate credit card. Discover the 10 best low interest rate credit cards as determined by CardRatings and Consumer Reports. They also tend to have very competitive fees. A low interest rate credit card can greatly reduce the amount you need to pay on your outstanding credit card bills and debt. Find a list of the 10 best credit cards for consolidation.
National Debt Relief is proud to be reviewed and ranked as a Top Provider by these independent review websites. National Debt Relief does not compensate these providers to apply their objective criteria to our company and rank us compared to our peers. We do, however, advertise on their websites because we are proud of our independent rankings. We have confirmed that each independent review is subject to its own criteria and not influenced by our advertising.
I’ve done some research on debt consolidation loans from financial institutions, and have found one for a $10,000 loan @ $197/month for 5 years, fixed rate of 6.99%. This will allow us to consolidate all of our credit card & medical bill debt (normally costing around $1000-1500/month) and allow us the cash to get her car fixed, paying one low monthly cost. Once we get her car fixed we are going to start paying more than the $197/month to pay the loan off quicker.
The sad fact is that usually only the wealthiest kids are taught good financial practices and habits, so they have advantages throughout their entire working lives. Those of us less fortunate have to figure out (too late – if ever) that creating/establishing multiple streams of income is one of the most certain methods to ensure a better life. Sure, many people think opening a business will make them plenty of money, but the reality is more like plenty of headaches before plenty of money. Many people start a family early in life, and this also can be an obstacle to financial success.
I started today while reading this article by putting 5 dollars into my savings account. I feel like I’m drowning in debt and living from emergency to emergency. I know they key for me to getting out is establishing savings…and I’ve procrastinated. No more! Today I started, next pay check I’ll put in 50, next 100, maybe I’ll get to 200 in a few months. I want to see $2000 in there so I can afford things like car maintenance and medical co-pays!

Who Is Holding My Money While I’m Waiting On A Settlement? Your funds will be held at Global Client Solutions, which is an FDIC insured trust account. This account will be opened in your name with you having ultimate control over its funds. The monies collected in this account get disbursed only at the time a negotiation is reached with the creditor and you agree with the settlement offer.

As a debt junkie for almost ten years, I ran up credit card after credit card living like my salary was about four times its actual size. Stupid things I bought on credit included flying lessons, weekends in Las Vegas, and a brand new pickup truck. Hey, I never said I wasn’t having fun. (Remember, I’m on the other side of 25 now, so I started college pre-recession… during the dot-com boom. Back then, I actually thought I could graduate with a sociology major and find a $75k a year job—because I knew people who did!)
They say you can opt out at anytime. After 2 years of payments and in between any ongoing negotiations I sent a written statement to opt out. They called me to verify which I answered, then put me on hold several times for 5 to 10 minutes each time and then said my supervisor would like to speak with you. I hung up frustrated and since then they blow up my phone daily with phone calls!!! I opted out, leave me alone!
Next, your credit counselor will compile your data and ask you to commit to a debt management plan if they believe it’s the best option. If you choose to move forward, you will begin making a single monthly payment to the credit counseling agency who will disburse the funds on your behalf. Your credit counselor may also suggest alternatives to debt management plans if they believe a better option is available.